*Stone Academy Paranormal Investigation

ZANESVILLE, Ohio, July 30, 2008 --- On Saturday evening, August 2^nd, the Ohio Paranormal Seekers (T.O.P.S.) will investigate possible paranormal activity at the historic Stone Academy, 115 Jefferson Street.

The Stone Academy is one of the oldest and arguably the most historic building in Muskingum County. Constructed in 1809, the building was designed to serve as state house should the capital of Ohio have relocated to Springfield (Putnam’s original name). It then served as a court, various private schools, a church, a meeting house, and the site of two Ohio Anti-slavery Society state conventions (1835 and 1839). After being converted to a private residence in 1840, the building was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Elizabeth Robins, a famous actress, author, and noted feminist lived in the house in the 1870’s. It is now a museum operated by the Pioneer and Historical Society of Muskingum County.

 Stories about possible paranormal occurrences in the building dating back to the 1840’s are chronicled in a book by Gary Felumlee, Ghosts in the Valley. One story tells of a sickly runaway being cared for by a family in Putnam. The old man had traveled up the Muskingum with a companion but was weak and soon died. Because it was illegal to aid fugitive slaves the family was concerned with getting caught so they buried him in “the dirt basement of a stone building in Putnam”. Because he did not receive a proper Christian burial his spirit supposedly haunts the place of his burial and nearby Putnam streets. Sightings of Theodore Weld, an abolitionist who spoke at a meeting in the building, Elizabeth Robins and her father Charles have been reported. Robins herself writes about a ghost she called Yaffti Makafti. The book also tells of possible paranormal activity in other nearby Putnam buildings.

Felumlee will be on hand to observe the investigation.